Soapbox

If you could have more of anything, what would it be? Money, a better house, or perhaps more vacations?

Personally, I would give my eye teeth for the ability to squeeze more time out of the day. It seems, despite my best efforts, that I end each day with a ton of things yet to be accomplished. This reminds me of a comic I saw a while back which said something to the effect, 'I'm so far behind, I can never die'. Unfortunately, this lends itself to some pretty unhealthy feelings too; wondering when I can ever get caught up, resentment for all the stuff I have to do, and a pretty hefty dose of frustration.

In an effort to get a handle on it, I've begun to compile a small list each night. I break down things into three categories; schooling, house management and work. The stuff that absolutely, positively HAS to get done goes on top of each section, followed by the optional stuff. I purposefully keep the lists for each as short as possible, ensuring greater liklihood of completion. I also like to add the other things I did, beyond those listed. At the end of the day, it gives me a sense of satisfaction to see some order and direction in my day. There are days where I don't get to each item, but by planning it out, I can spend less time spinning my wheels in a 'what should I tackle next' frenzy. Yes, I am a control freak!

In plotting it all out, it became pretty evident that I've done quite a good job painting myself into a corner. My time is completely sucked up by stuff I have to do leaving very little, if any, time for stuff I like to do for me. Sound familiar???

So, although the listing and categorizing may have made me more efficient in schooling the kids, running the house or managing WomanLinks.com, it really has done squat for me. Now what?

Since I've yet to devise a way to increase the number of hours in a day, and still can't figure a way around that pesky need for sleep, there really is only one logical solution. It comes down to deciding what is more important, squeezing in an extra errand each day, or exhaling.

The reality is that it's time to return our Selves to their rightful place in the 'absolutely, positively HAVE to attend to' category.

all the best,

Catie

Copyright 2001 WomanLinks.com

About the Author : Catie Hayes is founder/editor of WomanLinks.com; a community of support, spirituality, growth and empowerment for women. She is a freelance writer, the single homeschooling mom of two, and an avid fan of laughter, spontaneous dancing, cats and chocolate (not necessarily in that order).